The National Water Quality Monitoring Council Summer Meeting

The National Water Quality Monitoring Council Summer Meeting Fort Collins, Colorado July 22, 2008

Goal for the Meeting: To reassess where the Council stands, to establish its goals for the next two years, to organize itself, and to involve others in order to achieve those goals.

o Review the Strategy and interests that have guided us o Status Report n n Review our accomplishments Review the evolution and accomplishments of others o Look to evolving circumstances o Decide on the things that need to happen and the Council’s role in making them happen

Our Charter, the Strategy and interests that have guided us o Terms of Reference p Council p Methods Board o The Strategy for Improving Water-Quality Monitoring in the United States o Requests from ACWI, CEQ, NSTC o Insights / Initiatives of the Council n n n From the Conferences Represented groups on the Council Member Concerns and Interests

Past Accomplishments: o 2008 and five previous conferences o National Coastal Monitoring Network (NMN) n Design n Pilot studies o National Environmental Methods Index (NEMI) o Water Quality Data Elements n n Chemical & Microbiological Analytes Biological Populations Toxicity Physical Habitat Measures

National Coastal Monitoring Network Design o Design for interrelated resource monitoring o Refined specifications for data management o Specifications for nutrient monitoring

Council Member Concerns and Interests o The Golden Rule

A Format for Discussions o Issue n n Summary Actions needed p Do the work p Advise p Summarize status p Share successes p Ask Questions n Schedule & Responsibilities

The Two-Year Cycle 2009 2008 2010 Conference ACWI

Issues 1. Do we need a more current strategy for improving WQ in US (1995)? n 2. 3. How do we help w/ NEST? What’s council’s role in climate change monitoring? n n n 4. Report to ACWI on our progress How will CC affect monitoring programs (e. g. index periods)? How would we monitor for changes? (e. g. volunteers to monitor for CC/not WQ; using statistics for demonstrating change – so what) Can we ID and share core indicators – start dialog? How to more fully engage volunteer monitoring? n n How do we capture volunteer data that exists? How to incorporate citizen scientists?

Issues (con’t) 5. 6. How do we foster collaboration to look at multi-entity assessment? How do we provide tools for assessment and interpretation, e. g. use for priority setting? 1. 2. 3. 7. 8. How do we help build capacity for assessment and interpretation? Tools for different types of design, e. g. probablistic, targeted More support from users – build constituency What should this council do relative to state councils – develop statement? ($5 K; moral support) Should we track overall monitoring effort in US? (dashboard; are we there 50%; what does success look like – publicly available data; status of 10 -yr strategies? )

Issues (con’t) 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. Should we be tracking state legislative issue in monitoring? Share w/states; how to encourage, stimulate interest How much money spent on monitoring relative to other water mitigations? (e. g. ASIWPCA gap analysis refresher/ addition; what does it buy you? How to follow up with network on NMN? How to coordinate with other, ongoing monitoring efforts? How do we improve the access and exchange of data and information? (how can sensors change monitoring, like method bd. ; implications; data management and assessment; value of it) How does council advise on emerging contaminants? Invasives/non-native species, early detection, rapid response

16. How can standards world keep up with 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. new constituents/technologies. Do we have guidance on quality control for volunteers? Should there be some? How to effectively share examples from states/other entities on things that work? Are we engaged enough with biological assessments? Where does it fit with assessment methodologies? How do we gain representation from experts outside the council? IT IS – Where does it stand ?

The End

Ways the Council Can Work: o Produce things o Act as an advisory committee o Be the “Lord of the State-of-the Art” produce and keep current status summaries o Become a convener o Reach out actively